Only ten more chapters and this story is done.

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Chapter 17

Nella Memoria di amore

"A brief candle; both ends burning
An endless mile; a bus wheel turning
A friend to share the lonesome times
A handshake and a sip of wine
So say it loud and let it ring
We are all a part of everything
The future, present and the past
Fly on proud bird
You're free at last."

Tom looked over at her, staring at her for a moment as if he didn't recognize her. He then sighed and shook his head. "Katie…" he said softly.

Kate stared at him, shaking her head. This wasn't real. This couldn't possibly be real. "No." she said, shaking her head. "You're…you're dead." she told him.

Tom looked at her, not saying anything for a long moment. "Why are you here, Katie?" he asked her, tilting his head to the side.

Kate squeezed her eyes shut. This was just another hallucination. That's all this was. She opened her eyes again and looked at him. "I was trying to get away." she whispered.

Tom nodded his head slightly, giving her a disappointed look. "Katie, why do you always have to run?" he asked her.

Kate looked at him. "Tom, I…" her voice trailed off and she coughed once more. She looked at him sadly, trying not to cry.

Tom shook his head. "Why, Katie?" he asked her. "Why do you always have the need to run."

"You know why, Tom." Kate whispered, tears flowing down her cheeks once again. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I killed you." She closed her eyes.

Tom's look of disappointment, turned to a sympathetic look. He shook his head. "It wasn't you're fault, Katie." He knelt down beside her and pulled her into a hug. "Don't keep blaming yourself."

Kate quickly wrapped her arms around him, not believing that he was really there. She buried her face in his shoulder. "Don't leave me again." she pleaded. "Please don't leave me again…"

Tom rubbed her back, trying to keep her gone. "I never left you to begin with, Katie." he whispered. "You never let me. And I'm never really going to leave you. I'll always be watching over you. And plus…You have Jack. He really cares for you, Katie. He loves you."

Kate shook her head, holding onto him. "But I love you…" she sobbed, coughing even more. "But I love you…"

Tom continued to rub her back. "Calm yourself down, Katie." he told her. "I can't come back." he said. He kissed her cheek. "I love you too, but there's no way we can do anything about it. And you know what? I think you love Jack more."

Kate shook her head. "I don't want Jack." she sobbed. "I want you. I just want you."

Tom stayed silent. He knew just the fact that he was there was overwhelming her completely. "Calm down, Sweetheart." he murmured in her ear, stroking her hair. "You're going to make yourself feel even more sick."

Kate continued to shake her head. "I just want /you/." she repeated over and over. He was right. She was completely overwhelmed by all of this. She held onto him, refusing to leave go. She didn't want to lose him again.

Tom pried her off of him and held her so he could look at her. He put his hand on her cheek, catching the tears as they fell. "Kate…" he whispered.

"I'll stop running." Kate cried. "I promise. Just don't leave me again. Please don't leave me again. Please."

Tom shook his head. "Stop." he told her, keeping his voice soft and calm. He put his fingers under her chin, looking at her face. "Just calm down and we'll talk…"

Kate sobbed a few more times before trying to calm herself down. She opened her eyes, looking into his, still crying softly.

"I can't stay here with you, Katie." Tom told her. "I'm dead. There's no way I can stay here with you. I have to do what I'm supposed to do and then leave…but not really leave. I'll still be in your heart and your memories and one day you'll see me again."

Kate looked at him, looking ready to simply burst into tears again. Her breath caught in her aching throat and she found herself not able to say anything to him. She wrapped her arms around him again, hugging him tightly.

Tom sighed and looked down at her. He gently ran his hand through her hair. "You have to stop running, Katie. How do you ever expect to be happy if you don't stop running?"

Kate didn't answer him, trying to block out what he was saying. She knew he was right, but she didn't want to listen to him. She was born to run. She couldn't possibly stop.

"Please, stop running, Katie." Tom said, watching her. "If you don't; things will only get worse. I have to go, and I can't if you're still running."

"So…So I'm holding you back?" Kate asked, quietly. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. If she kept running, then he wouldn't leave.

Tom nodded slightly. "Yeah. You are." he told her. Almost reading her mind, he added, "But running isn't going to do you any good, Katie. And what are you going to do about Jack? He loves you. And I know you love him back."

Kate quickly shook her head. "I don't love him." she lied in a whisper. "I love you." She glanced up at him.

Tom sighed and looked at her. "So if you had a choice of either me going or him dying, you'd pick him dying?" he asked.

Kate looked down, trying to figure out how to change the question so she wouldn't have to answer it. She would do almost anything to keep Jack from dying. Almost. She wasn't so sure about letting Tom leave her though. "I don't know." she replied finally.

Tom sighed, shaking his head slightly. "I want you to stop running, Katie." he said. "You say you love me. So will you do that for me? Will you stop running and let me go?"

Kate looked back up at him again. She knew that sometimes when you loved things, you had to let them go. She'd learned that lesson too many times. "But, Tom…" her raspy voice trailed off.

"Will you do it for me?" Tom asked her. "Will you stop running for me because you love me? I promise you that I will never really leave you. I'll be in your memories…and in your heart." He kissed her on the cheek.

"Tom…I…I can't…"

"Yes, you can." Tom told her. "You have Jack. You say you love me more, but I know it's a lie, Katie."

Kate closed her eyes, hugging him again. "But I miss you." she whispered, shaking slightly. She choked on another sob, more tears finding their way down her cheeks.

"I know." Tom told her. "But I told you. I'll always be with you."

Kate continued to hug him for several moments, not saying anything. She finally looked back up at him. "Will you…Will you at least help me find my way back to camp? And make sure my friends get back safe too?"

Tom nodded his head. "I'll help you find your way back to camp." he told her. "And I'll make sure your friends get back to you."

"Alright." Kate said, looking up at him. She shakily pushed herself up so she was standing, grabbing his shoulder as dizziness rushed over her.

Tom put his hands on her arms as she stood, making sure she didn't fall over. "You should get lots of rest when you get back." he told her, looking at her in concern.

Kate nodded her head slightly, slowly leaving go of him as the dizzy spell passed. "How do we get out of here?" she asked, looking around.

Tom took her hand in his, lacing their fingers. "This way." he said. He began heading further into the cave, making sure she was right beside him at all times.

Kate leaned against him, staring at him as she walked beside him. She couldn't believe Tom was really there with her. She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder, quite tired.

Tom glanced down at her. He reached over, placing his hand on her forehead. "I think you'll be fine until we get back." he told her, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Kate nodded her head slightly. She continued to walk, the cave seeming to go on forever. A light finally appeared though and Kate looked towards it, sighing slightly.

Tom stopped at the exit of the cave. "We have to be quiet." he whispered. He glanced around carefully, then pulled her out, trying to hide behind whatever they could.

Kate looked at him curiously, wondering why they had to be quiet. She didn't make any sounds, though it was challenging not to cough.

Tom continued through the jungle, making sure that no one heard or caught them. He finally stopped and turned to her, placing his hands on her arms again. "I think you can make it back from here." he whispered. "Just keep going straight and you'll end up on the beach. I love you." He leaned over and kissed her cheek once more.

Kate wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head against his shoulder. She swallowed her tears and hugged him tightly, not pulling back until he made her.

Tom held her at arms length, looking at her for a moment. "Behave yourself, Katie. I love you." he told her. He kissed her cheek again, then disappeared.

Kate stared at the spot he'd been standing in for a several moments. ""I love you too." she whispered back finally. With a deep sigh, she wiped her eyes, then turned and began walking.

Time passed by slowly, and Kate got even more tired. She finally stopped to rest, leaning against a tree and closing her eyes. A few voices not too far away caught her ear and she opened her eyes again. Curiosity got the better of her, and she stood up straight, heading towards the voices as silently as she could. She finally stopped a few feet away, looking through a bush to see what was going on. She was shocked at what she saw. There in front of her stood Jack, Sawyer, Jessie, and Jayla, all being held at gunpoint. She blinked a few times, making sure this was all real. All of them looked horrified as they listened to Them talk. Before she knew what was happening, a few gunshots rang out. She watched as Jack dropped to the ground, soon followed by Sawyer. Getting up, she took off before she was next.

She ran as fast as she could, forgetting about how tired and sick she felt. Jack had been shot. Jack had been /shot/. She hadn't seen where the bullet had hit him, but she knew it had hit him. She ran until a few hours later she stumbled onto the beach. She fell onto the sand, gasping for breath. The world around her went back and she simply passed out right where she was.

It was dark out when Kate finally woke up. A small moan escaped her lips as she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. She wasn't sitting for long, falling over backwards without even realizing it. A few rain drops fell down onto her warm face and she knew she should take shelter before it was too late, but she couldn't get up. Luckily the rain didn't get much harder, and it cooled her down quite a bit. Her eyes slowly began to close again and she fell asleep where she was.